Penn State Football: Franklin Expanding State Borders With Recruiting Claims

James Franklin wants to dominate the state and the region, but depending how you draw the borders it could be hard to define where one ends and the other beings.

"I consider this in-state," Franklin said while in Baltimore on Wednesday morning according to the Football Letter. Franklin was speaking at his latest stop on Penn State's Coaches Caravan tour. "I consider New Jersey in-state. I know there are other schools around here, but you might as well shut them down."

Franklin's not particularly veiled shots were aimed directly at soon-to-be Big Ten members Rutgers and Maryland. Penn State's 2015 class has six verbal commitments from New Jersey and Maryland with three coming from each state. 

This isn't the first time Franklin has jabbed at another football program, Franklin's claim to dominate the state in recruiting was enough for Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst to respond.

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“I heard people talk about it, I didn’t hear him say that. People can talk about whatever they want to say, I think it’s what you do. You really don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. We know it’s a competitive world. People can talk all they want, the actions are going to speak loudest,” Chryst said.

So far Franklin has been able to back up his talk as the Nittany Lions currently have the No. 2 rated 2015 recruiting class in the nation according to every major recruiting outlet.

Penn State will open the 2014 Big Ten season on the road with a night clash at Rutgers. So it won't be long before things start getting physical.

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